Week Five - Moroccan Wedding

Well the good news is that I have not been sick at all this week. My stomach has been totally fine, which made everything. Unfortunately, the increased pollution and other new environmental factors have started to trigger my asthma. Therefore, I have come to the realization that I would not have survived in a pre-modern society. I would not have survived the Oregon Trail. I would have died of pneumonia. I would have been the small, sickling, bed-ridden girl in Victorian England. My body is weak and inferior and can only handle highly controlled environments.

Me - in the 1800s

Mon

We were all a little tired from the Sahara trip, making class a little difficult. My eyes were also super sensitive, I think from the sun and sand of the desert. After class, we wandered through the Medina, trying to find Susannah some new shoes (the ones she bought did not survive the desert). It is amazing how complex the streets of the Medina are - I feel more comfortable with the "main roads" but there are so many small streets that make it easy to get turned around. Good thing I don't have to navigate, otherwise I would never make it out.

Tues

Classes are definitely getting harder. Arabic does not come easily to me and I really struggle to remember the vocab. After class, we just worked on homework all night. Super exciting.

Wed/Thurs

I am (luckily) not the only sickling on this trip and another girl in our program had to go to the hospital. Susannah went to see her during lunch, so I had to go home by myself. And I didn't die. It was a miracle. (And the medicine worked for the girl in our program - she is doing much better now)

We got to watch the Turkish soap opera - we think that it is almost at the end of the series because things are getting crazy. And then lots of homework.

In English, the soap is called "Lady's Farm"

And Thursday was pretty typical. Sorry, this week is kind of boring.


Fri

Quiz in the morning (rough) and then home for lunch. The afternoon class was just Susannah and me because everyone else from our class was traveling. It was actually really nice to get some personal instruction - and I clearly need it.

After class, we went home to a surprise. Our family was hosting a bachelorette party for a friend. You could hear the music booming down the street. It was crazy!

View from the balcony - by the end, the center of the room was filled with people dancing

The bride was getting henna while all her girlfriends had a huge dance party around her. It was really fun to get to watch.

Sat

We decided to stay in Fez this weekend because of the wedding and so that we could really explore the city. We went to a hotel pool during the early afternoon because it was over 100 degrees out. It felt really nice to relax by the water! Then we went into the heart of the Medina and did a little shopping. I got some really cool pants and a kaftan, which is a type of traditional Moroccan dress.

Susannah and I in our Kaftans

Then we went out to a nice dinner at an Italian-ish restaurant (everything here still has a distinct Moroccan touch). It was a really fun and relaxing day.

Pizza and beer - Moroccan style

Sun

Wedding day! We went to the courtyard where the ceremony was held around 2 and didn't leave until 10:30. There was a lot of sitting around in the heat (again, over 100 degrees) but it was amazing to get to see such a traditional Moroccan event. We got lunch and tea (a couple times) and watched the teens and kids dance in front of the bride and groom. For most of the wedding, the bride and groom sat on a throne-like couch. It was pretty spectacular. The bride had 4 different dresses and got carried 3 separate times.

My host mom and me

The couch-throne the bride and groom sat at for most of the wedding

One course of our lunch

Bride and groom, right before the bride was lifted into the air (outfit #1)

Bride and groom (yes, he is on his phone) (outfit #2)

My favorite outfit (#3)

End of the wedding (outfit #4) - they kissed while in the air! (sorry it's a little blurry)

I was so thankful that I got to witness such an important event! Two weeks left - let's hope my lungs last until then!

Weeks Three and Four

Sorry this post is late! Unfortunately I have been sick almost everyday - and I was really sick last week. I'm still having a lot of fun and learning a lot, but my body is just not adapting well to Morocco.

Monday

Typical class in the morning, then Susannah and I went to a pizza place for lunch. I don't mind the Moroccan food, but I don't love it either. The pizza was still a little different than at home, but it was nice to have a bit of comfort food! After the afternoon class, we went home right away (since we didn't go home for lunch) and watched a Turkish soap opera with our family. Let me tell you - this is a good soap opera, even though I can't understand a word that is spoken. It's really fun to watch something with all the women in the house (and some of their friends) and we can all enjoy it together.

Tuesday

Today, a lifelong dream of mine was fulfilled. I was basically in my favorite movie - except in real life. But in fulfilling this dream, I did break a promise that I made in 8th grade to my mother (sorry Mom!). Let me give you the back-story - in 8th grade my favorite movie, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, came out. For those of you who haven't watched this modern day classic, it is about Lizzie's adventures in Rome where she gets mistaken for an Italian pop star. I made my mom go see it with me and while she highly enjoyed the movie (because it is amazing), she did give me a lecture on some of Lizzie's behavior that she did not agree with. While in Rome, Lizzie hops on the back of an Italian pop star's motorcycle and rides around the streets of Rome. Mom made me promise to never do that.

But I did. And it was awesome!! Again, sorry Mom.

Susannah and I typically have trouble finding taxi's after our afternoon class, especially if we don't leave right away. While we were waiting for a taxi, one of the program directors from our school saw us and he and his friend offered to give us a ride home on their motorcycles. So we did - and it was amazing. I think thats how the streets of Fez are meant to be traveled. You didn't smell the trash and you weren't sweating in e back of a taxi while the driver tries to hit on you. In case you need a mental picture, I basically looked like this.

This is what dreams are made of

For dinner that night, we had fried fish. Except here, fried fish does not mean fish sticks. It means an entire fish, fried. Let me just say, it tasted good, but I am not good at picking out fish bones. My host family thought my attempts were very amusing.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Typical class schedule and planning our trip for the weekend. Half of the group left after their classes on Friday (they get out earlier) to go to our weekend destination - Tangier. Susannah and I decided to stay at home Friday night and leave early on Saturday morning. Our family, and our host mom especially takes care of us. So we try to hang out at the house as much as possible because we want them to know how much we appreciate them! And we wanted to watch the soap opera. I'm telling you - it's really good.

Saturday

We left really early for the train station. The streets of the Medina were completely deserted, so our host dad traveled with us to the station to make sure we got there ok. The train ride was smooth - we had to transfer halfway through and almost got off at the wrong stop - but otherwise, the seats were pretty comfy and we were able to get some much needed sleep. We got to Tangier around noon. Tangier is at the tip of Morocco near Spain. It's so close that you can actually see Spain across the water!

The land across the water is Spain!

It was beautiful there - it's my favorite city we have been too so far. It had a beach-town feeling, with restaurants and bars all along the cost, and white-washed buildings. We spent the afternoon and evening walking around the city and enjoying the cool breezes coming off the water.

Sunday

We went to St. Andrew's Church for a Sunday morning service. This church is a really cool blend of cultures and religions. It is an Anglican church, but designed in the Moorish style (with the typical arches and tiles) with verses from the Qur'an written on the wall. I wasn't able to get pictures of the inside because I got sick during the service, but the church also had beautiful gardens and a cemetery.

A turtle that decided to sit with me while I was sick

Mon, Tues, Wed

This began the seriously sick Lisa. I got a really high fever and sore throat and ended up having to go to the Moroccan doctor's office to get some medicine. Let me tell you, the Moroccan doctor's office is not a place I want to go back to again. Luckily, the medicine did work and I made a quick recovery after 24 hours. And the rose water my host mom kept putting on me might have helped too :)

Thursday

Feeling better enough to take my quiz (I don't think it went well), and then got some supplies for our weekend trip - the Sahara!!

Friday

Feeling much better (thank goodness)! Went to class in the morning, then we left right at noon for a 7 hour bus ride to the desert. We stayed at a beautiful hotel and we were able to get a good night's sleep (and evening swim) before our long day in the desert.

Our beds

Saturday

We had breakfast at the hotel, then we hopped in the vans and drove another 2 hours to the desert. We dropped our stuff off at a hotel, ate lunch, went for a swim, and tried to stay cool during the hottest time of the day. Finally, around 6:30, we got ready and went to the camels!!

I was a little nervous...

It was ok getting on them because they were lying down. Trying to get comfortable was a bit difficult, however. They put a blanket and a cushion over the hump and you ride on the back of it. It feels a lot different than riding a horse and is quite terrifying when they go down hills. But it was AMAZING!!

The Sahara was beautiful and actually had more vegetation than I thought it would. We rode the camels for 2 hours to our camp where we stayed the night. Before we could get to the camp, however, we had to climb a huge dune. It was at least twice the size of the big one at the Warren Dunes. It was a little rough climbing up after the camel ride, but the views were incredible.

The walk down to the camp

We slept in traditional Berber tents. and had dinner in the center at long tables while listening to a drum concert. It was pretty surreal.

Our camp and tents

Except for the bugs. There were bugs. Lots of huge, terrifying bugs. All I have to say is thank goodness for Adventures in Odyssey and pure exhaustion from the ride.

Sunday

We woke up at 5:30 and rode the camels back during the sunrise. Unfortunately, we were all a bit (a lot) sore from the ride the night before, but the views were just fantastic. Pictures cannot capture it.

After we got back to the hotel and had a quick shower, we got back in the vans and drove 9 hours back to Fez. Bus rides after 4 hours of camel riding is not fun, but it was totally worth it.

Week Two - Fez

I have survived another week! I am now in Fez, where I will be for the rest of the trip. I am living with a host family here and a roommate from Iowa, Susannah. Life has a bit more of a schedule here, which I like. We have class from 10-12 and 4-6 Mon-Fri. The long break allows us to go home for lunch or stay on campus and use the internet! Then most weekends, we will be traveling to different cities and other important sites. Here is a bit more of a breakdown of the week:

Saturday

We rode a bus from Rabat to Fez and then arrived at ALIF (the school that we take classes at) for lunch and a brief orientation. All of the group from Iowa got paired together in host families which makes transportation a lot easier. About half of the group is living in the New City, which is much closer to ALIF, and half is living in the Old Medina. Susannah and I are in the Old Medina - we have to take a taxi in for class, but the lifestyle is a bit more traditional.

After the orientation at ALIF, our families came to pick us up and we spent the rest of the evening at home with them. Our family is so nice - there is a mom, dad, and older and younger sister (around 25 and 16) and an older and younger brother (around 26 and 21). The oldest brother doesn't live with us, but often will stop by in the afternoon. The dad and the younger brother work most of the day, but at least the dad will typically come home for dinner.

Our house is very traditional, which is very different from America! There is a main living room with a small table (where we eat all of the meals) and couches all around the walls. There is also a TV that is always on (a typical practice in Morocco). A small kitchen and bathroom (yes, in the same room) are off from the living room, as well as a small storage area and a larger room full of couches and beds (where the family sleeps). The second floor has Susannah and my bedroom, and the third floor is the terrace. I know this is the 2nd Disney reference I have made, but it feels just like Aladdin. The house also has a distinctive Moroccan feature - it doesn't really have a roof - just an open skylight. It helps keep the house cool and gives the house natural light (it doesn't have any windows), but it also means that birds live in the house. And they like to chirp at 5 in the morning.

Living Room

The toilet - yes I am not kidding

My bed (with a couch in front)

Sunday

We had breakfast and then went out into the Medina with our youngest host sister, Shema. She and a friend took us to all the sites - the tanneries, the scarf shops, the gardens, and the palace.

The correct way to wear scarves in the Sahara

The tanneries - they smelled quite unpleasant

We barely got home in time for lunch, then went out with the Iowa group and saw all of the sites again! We didn't quite plan that one correctly :) The Medina is incredible, but very difficult to navigate. Many of the streets look the same and it is easy to quickly get turned around. There are also many vendors trying to lure you into their stores, or teens trying to make money off of you by giving you a "free tour" (with a tip expected). Women also get harassed by men on the streets, so there is a lot going on all the time.

When we got home around 8, we had Moroccan tea (very sweet, hot, mint tea) and some cookies and bread. Susannah and I thought that this meal was dinner, but alas, it was not. Dinner did not come until 11pm even though we were ready for bed at 10! The eating schedule is much different than what I am used to and my stomach still hasn't properly adjusted. Part of Moroccan hospitality means feeding your guests well and I have not been fulfilling that duty well!

Monday

First day of Arabic classes! Here in Fez we are learning Standard Arabic, or fus-ha. This is different from what Moroccans speak, so it gets a little confusing. We have two different teachers - one for the morning and one for the afternoon. Both are very nice and put up with the group nicely, since we are all beginners and especially struggle with pronunciation. Arabic has some sounds that English doesn't have, which makes pronunciation very difficult. Some of the new sounds are very deep and when our morning teacher says some of them, he sounds exactly like Saruman from Lord of the Rings. He kind of looks like him too. Our afternoon teacher speaks almost entirely in Arabic, but what is amazing is that I can almost understand him. He is very good at gesturing and clearly does this for a living, but the difference from last week in my comprehension is amazing!

Susannah and I couldn't find a taxi home after class, so we decided that we would just walk. The walk is about 40 minutes, mostly along busy roads, so we figured we would be fine. We learned our lesson though - one car actually turned around so that it could follow us and shout things at us for a couple blocks. So we won't be doing that again! We got a little lost in the Medina as well, trying to find our house, but eventually figured it out, which is a significant feat.

Tuesday

Before heading to ALIF, we saw our host cousin's school. My host cousin lives about a block away and that family is hosting 2 students from the Iowa group as well, so our families do a lot together. The cousin's school was having some sort of science and project fair, so there were displays and posters everywhere. It was really fun to see the similarities and differences in the elementary schools!

After class, Susannah and I successfully navigated home without getting lost, which we were very pleased with! We had tea at home and watched a Turkish soap opera with our host mom and her friends. The soap opera was crazy and I couldn't even understand what they were saying! There was a kiddnapping and an attempted murder though. It was clear that this was a show that they followed regularly because all the women were completely engrossed in the episode and continued to talk about it all night.

We also had a special visitor that night - the oldest brother's son. He was adorable. He took a little while to warm up to us, but ended up having pretty sweet dance moves and could do a mean pig impression.

In his first Jilaba (the robe)

Wednesday

More class and more heat. It got up to 100 today and the worst is yet to come. The director says in June it will easily get up to 120. The classrooms have air conditioning, but our house does not.

After class, we got home and the youngest daughter got in trouble with her parents. The next couple hours were extremely awkward - a stern family discussion in another language with the family surrounding us. Very uncomfortable. But it is amazing how dispite the different culture, family dynamics are still very similar. To escape from more of the family discussion, we went to a cafe down the street from us, Cafe Clock. It has wifi and a really cute terrace. It is a nice little retreat close to home!

Thursday

The plague has struck. Susannah is down. I am left to fend for myself, which clearly doesn't go to well. Susannah knows a little French, which is extremely helpful here. I do not. I quickly come to the realization that Susannah has been the main communicator with the family and with the taxi's. Luckily, I ride to and from class with a student from Iowa (the one with my host cousin) so I am not completely left alone on the commute. I am forced to communicate directly with the family, however, which is a good thing for my language skills. Unfortuntely, I have a headache and have a feeling I will be getting sick next.

Friday

Sick. Of course. Not as bad as Susannah had it, though. I sleep all morning, but make it to afternoon class to take a quiz. We take it easy for the rest of the day and try to get to bed early.

Saturday

Feeling mostly better and thank goodness because we have a trip planned! Today we go to Volubilis, a site with Roman ruins, Moulay Idriss, and Meknes. Everything was beautiful and the Roman ruins were incredible!

Yes, that is a giant bird nest on top

We stayed in a hotel that night for a little break and were able to go in the pool the next morning!!


All in all, a good week, minus the sickness. And for those of you who are curious, my Ipod has not died yet, so Adventures in Odyssey is still going strong. I have a more limited episode selction, since I don't have internet, but it is enough to get me to sleep :) And no other large bug citings yet!! And I have some videos of the  house, but they won't work now - maybe I can get them up later!

First Week in Rabat

Well, I made it through the first week! I still cannot believe that I am actually in Morocco. We had a very full week in Rabat - classes for most of the morning and afternoon, then exploring the city in the evening. This week we learned the Moroccan dialect of Arabic, darija (which, as it turns out, is very different from Modern Standard Arabic, or fus-ha. I was hoping it was going to be more like American versus British English) and some basic history and culture of Morocco.

Sunday

The flight over was very long, so we were pretty tired by the end of the day. We got to AMID East, which was where we took classes. We had a brief orientation, then we met our host families for the week. I was paired with Melanie from my group, and our host family was a young mom, Cinna, a dad, a 6 month old girl, Mellak, and a nanny.

Cinna and Mellak

Melanie and I lucked out because our apartment was only a 5 minute walk from AMID East. The apartment was on the 3rd level, and our room had a balcony that looked out at the Mosque across the street. We ate dinner with the family and went to bed kind of early.

Our room is the 3rd floor with the carpet

The Mosque outside our apartment

Monday

We had our first class at 9 am - a lecture on culture and then an introductino to darija, Moroccan Arabic. I quickly realized that I am one of the worst at Arabic - the words just don't stick! After morning class, we had a break fro lunch at home, which is the biggest meal of the day, and then went back for more lectures. After lectures, we had a trip to the sook, or the market, in the Medina, which is the older part of the city. The steets are lined with venders, similar to a flea market, and you have to haggle for good prices. Unsuprisingly, I am not very good at haggling, but it is especially difficult when you don't know all the numbers!

After dinner, most of the group went to a concert in a park nearby. The King of Morocco puts on a 2 week long music festival with groups from all over the world every summer. The singer we saw was an extremely popular Arabic singer, Khalif. The music was fun, but the crowd was a bit crazy. It was a good thing that us 4 girls had guys from the group with us, because male-female interactions are very different here, especially in large crowds. It was really fun though!

View of the Stage

Tuesday

More Moroccan Arabic classes, culture lectures, and exploring the Medina. The Arabic really is a bit overwhelming, but the culture lectures are interesting. Our trip to the Medina today was especially good, however, because we got tours from girls that go to a Moroccan University in Rabat. They spoke English very well, which was very nice for me, and we were able to have really great conversations. It was amazing how much we had in common, even though we are from completely different cultures.

When Melanie and I returned home, the ineveitable happened. Huge bug sighting #1. Giant cockroach on the bathroom sink.

Needless to say, I did not sleep very well that night.


Wednesday

More Arabic classes, lectures and going to the Medina. Instead of wandering around the sook, though, we ventured down to the beach, walking through a huge cemetary along the way. It was so beautiful! And some of the graves were hundreds of years old.

We took a tram back to our apartments, and I actually navigated back to my apartment by myself! Granted, it was only 5 blocks, but a big accomplishment for me.

Thursday

All the walking around the city is making my feet swell, but hopefully that is a good sign from all the food we are forced to eat. Moroccans have extremely good hospitality, but part of this means trying to feed us as much as possible. With loaves of bread. So proof that I am walking a lot is a good sign at this point.

More Arabic, lectures, and exploring. We went down to the Medina again, and I am finally getting comfortable navigating and using some basic phrases. Although Arabic lessons are really overwhelming, I am learning a lot pretty quickly. I even tried bartering a little with Melanie to buy a decorated plate for our host family. We didn't get as good of a deal as some other students, but it's a start! We also went to a local resturant in the Medina that had the most delicious homeade yogurt that I have ever tasted. I am not a huge yogurt person, but this yogurt might have been with the flight over.

 

Friday

Our last full day in Rabat! I can't believe how quickly it went. We had our final lesson of darija in the morning, which is a bit scary think about. Darija is the language we will be mostly speaking with the host families, but we won't be formally learning any more this entire trip!

2 students and I tried to take a taxi to a historical site, but it didn't drop us off in the correct place. But, we managed to naviagate around the city and find it ourselves! It was beautiful. It's pronounced like Shellat (I don't know the real spelling and I'm too lazy to look it up). It was Roman ruins, that were built over by the Moroccans and the French. There were fields next to the ruins that looked like something out of the Lion King. There were storks flying through the fields and water and cows wandering around instead of lions. I could hear the Circle of Life playing in my head.

For our final dinner in Rabat, we had Couscous. Families typically have Couscous on Friday lunch, since it is a holy day, but our host dad owns a resturant, so he brought some Couscous from the resturant. It was delicious, but extremely filling. We watched Arab's Got Talent with the family, then everyone from the group went out for a drink and to recap about the week.

It was so sad saying goodbye to Rabat and our family Saturday morning, but I love it here in Fez! Next blog I will talk about my week here - hopefully with some videos!

4 More Days

Well, the countdown is on. I will be leaving the country on Saturday, which is just 4 days away. Holy crap. Good thing I am completely packed and ready to go - NOT. 

In the midst of packing, shopping, and finishing up my TA roles from the semester, I have a lot of time to think about my upcoming trip. Of course, I do not worry about things at all (thanks Dad), and I love having absolutely no idea what I am getting myself into, so all this time to think is great. Again, NOT.

So I have decided to put together a list of my top fears of Morocco. Hopefully many of them will be trivial once I get there and I will laugh at my pre-trip naivety since I will come back an experienced and cultured woman. Or they will all happen and I will die (no, not actually, Mom). 

1. Bugs. Especially giant flying bugs in my room at night that will crawl in my ears and/or sting my face. 

2. That I will get hopelessly lost every day and not know enough Arabic to get directions home. And then I would have to sleep outside. With the bugs. 

3. That I will get really sick and miss out on important trips and events. 

4. That Arabic will never "click" and I won't ever understand what is going on. 

5. And the most important - that somehow Adventures in Odyssey will not work in Morocco and I won't be able to fall asleep the entire trip. 

It is my goal to update this blog about once a week with pictures and updates about what I am doing in Morocco! The next posting will be much more interesting since I will be here :)